Handbook of the Economics of Education

Eric Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He is also chairman of the Executive Committee for the Texas Schools Project at the University of Texas at Dallas, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a member of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences and of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence (California). Steve Machin's main research areas cover empirical work in labour economics, the economics of education and industrial relations. He is currently a Professor of Economics at University College London and Director of the Centre for the Economics of Education and Research Director at the Centre for Economic Performance. He is also one of the Editors of The Economic Journal. Ludger Woessmann is Professor of Economics at the University of Munich, and holds a joint appointment as Head of the "Human Capital and Innovation Department at Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Germany.

"2011 PROSE Award Honorable Mention for Economics" "The increased importance of knowledge, skills, and information in the modern economy means that human capital and education will be even more important in the future than it has been during the past 50 years. ... The articles in these handbook volumes convey some of the excitement that continues in research on the economics of education."--Gary S. Becker, University of Chicago "This important volume follows soon after volume 3, so together they provide up-to-date expert evaluations of the latest research findings on the economics of education, including some significant topics that are little discussed by economists. There are chapters on how psychological behavior affects economic decisions; the relation between educational achievement on one hand and criminal activity, good health, and political participation on the other; and the relation between education and the process of economic development. Other chapters address more familiar issues, such as education and migration, the use of school vouchers, overall school financing, and performance pay for teachers. One chapter considers an intriguing issue--whether there has been, or can be, over education. Most readers will appreciate the chapter on the determinants of college achievement. Each of the nine long essays comes with an unusually extensive bibliography. Of strong value for researchers and professional educators. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." - CHOICE, August 2012, Vol. 49, No. 11, page 153